“The Liberation of Gabriel King” by K.L. Going is a chapter book that should be in ever school library media center collection. This book should be accessible by all students because it teaches about the effects of racism after integration. In the book, Gabriel King was best friends with an African American girl named Frita. The two of them graduated from fourth grade and spent the entire summer becoming braver by facing their fears one at a time. Frita was helping to liberate Gabriel from all of his fears.
Mr. Evans is an older gentleman in the book who threatens Frita and tells her that the Ku Klux Klan may come to find her if she’s not careful. Gabriel realized that Frita was most afraid of Mr. Evans and the Ku Klux Klan. Frita’s fears are made known to Gabe’s parents as well as her own. The families organize a rally in their community to raise awareness about the mistreatment of African Americans. Almost the entire town shows up to take part in the rally. By the end of the story, Gabriel and Frita have both faced all of their fears and are ready to move up to the fifth grade.
The main reason that each child should have access to this book is because it shows how racism still lingers even though there has been laws passed against it. This book shows how detrimental racism is to a society and how the African American population has been impacted by a history of racism. The author uses humor and a child-like perspective to engage children in the book and to teach valuable life lessons.
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